British American Tobacco tapped investors for at least $15bn on Tuesday in one of the largest corporate bonds deals of the year, as low borrowing costs and a fierce appetite for debt help persuade companies to lever up.
The deal, to help fund the companys $49.4bn acquisition of US rival Reynolds American, followed a spate of bond offerings at the start of this week that pushed corporate debt issuance further ahead of its previous record pace.
Central bank stimulus and quickening economic activity have sharpened the appeal of US debt markets, particularly as swaths of sovereign bonds issued in Europe and Japan trade with a yield below zero.
Inflows to the market have helped push risk premiums towards their lowest level since the fi…
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